Opposite Worlds

This Saturday the hunters came to our forest, so we adopted our usual winter custom of walking in the safer parts of our village. Starting at the church in St Etienne en Haut, we parked our car, and set off to do the round walk to Gourgas. This hamlet is where R. the olive seller lives, but he wasn't about. In fact, we did not see a soul as we set off.

Setting Off..

We left this part of the village and climbed uphill towards the cirque at the head of the valley. We passed D.s two horses, grazing on a rough plot of land. Grazing is sparse, so she continually moves them around. Past the olive grove now on the left , and on towards the cliffs. We usually pass other walkers along the road . Today we did not see a soul. Nor were we passed by a single car.

We followed the river downhill, and crossed the ford towards Gourgas. Still we did not see a soul, save for the lovely scarecrow who guards the orchard at the foot of the cliffs.

Where was everybody? The village seemed empty. The houses silent. We didn't even see Angel, who often likes to stand by the fontaine and pass the time of day.

Past the small children's play park and boules court( both empty) we crossed the tiny hump-backed bridge back to the other side of the river. Even the lovely Belgian Malinois dog who usually watches us pass by here, was not at his usual post. Then we continued along the flat, fertile valley floor , where a large orchard has recently been planted. The last time we came, the trees were resplendent with ripening apples. Sadly, today they were all gone.

Now for the final climb back up to St Etienne en Haut, where the village church stood silent and empty.

This my favourite walk. The one that we reserve for winter weekends when hunters roam the forest. It reminds us that we are part of village life, for people always go out of their way to pass the time of day. Today however, for the first time ever, we didn't see a soul. Not even a child passed by on a bicycle. Where was everybody? In the rest of France up to eight hundred thousand people were taking part in demonstrations , watched over by seventy thousand police officers.

Last week( as I wrote in my blog) we tried to fight our way past endless crowds of protestors in Montpellier , in order to achieve our aim of attending a concert. We were defeated.

I can't help thinking that we live in two different worlds.